Ohio City Near West outlines strategic plan at annual meeting
by Joe Narkin

(Plain Press, May 2010) The West Side Market and the surrounding shopping district will be the central focus for commercial development under a new 5-year strategic plan for the Ohio City neighborhood, said Executive Director Eric Wobser during the annual meeting of Ohio City Near West Development Corporation (OCNW) on April 21st at Massimo da Milano Restaurant.

The keynote speaker, Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson, announced that the City of Cleveland has formed a committee to join OCNW in planning special events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the iconic landmark in November 2012. “We want to invest in assets; we want to invest in your centerpiece, the West Side Market,” said Mayor Jackson.

OCNW will conduct a re-branding initiative, Market 100, to market the West Side Market and the commercial strips along West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue as the West Side Market District. Envisioned as a community gathering spot and an outdoor performance center attracting residents and visiting shoppers, the Market Square Park on the northwest side of West 25th and Lorain Avenue will be renovated under a $1.5 million financing commitment from the City of Cleveland.

In an endeavor closely aligned with the Market 100 effort, the OCNW strategic plan also calls for the creation of an urban farm on a 6.5-acre tract of land between the CMHA Lakewood Tower and the bluffs overlooking the Cuyahoga River.

“We are the neighborhood that feeds the City,” said Wobser. “We want the West Side Market District to serve as a regional food system; we will be growing food locally and we want to show how that can drive the local economy,” he said.

“This neighborhood is in a constant upward motion,” said Cleveland City Councilperson Joe Cimperman, adding, “The West Side Market is the #2 place in the nation for local foods.”

In addition to the West Side Market discussion at the meeting, George Hrbek received the OCNW Legacy Award for his lifetime of advocacy on behalf of low-income Cleveland residents. Hrbek was one of the founders of the Near West Theatre and, more recently, he helped initiate an Ohio City Social Services Dialogue.

Dr. David Perse, a surgeon and the President of Lutheran Hospital received the OCNW Arts & Culture Award for his role as executive producer for the independent film, Tacqwacores, which was screened at the Sundance and Cleveland International Film Festivals. Filmed in Cleveland, Tacqwacores tell the story of Yusef, a Muslim from Pakistan who, while a student in Buffalo, New York, becomes a member of a hip countercultural community.

James Sosan received the OCNW Residential Preservation Award for his development of the Franklin Lofts, an 18-unit condominium complex in the historic YMCA Building at 3200 Franklin Boulevard.

Mbi k2m architects received the OCNW Commercial Preservation Award for their work in transforming a 1920’s era casket company building at 3121 Bridge Avenue into the Cleveland Design Studio that serves as their corporate headquarters.

The OCNW Presidents Award went to Gary Thomas, owner of Ohio City Pasta, who organized a fundraising dinner for the victims of a tragic arson fire on West 32nd Street. Ohio City Pasta is a retail and wholesale pasta manufacturer with a stand in the West Side Market.

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